The Muridae, or murids, are the largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 1,383 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia.
The Old World rats and mice, part of the subfamily Murinae in the family Muridae, comprise at least 519 species. Members of this subfamily are called murines. In terms of species richness, this subfamily is larger than all mammal families except the Cricetidae and Muridae, and is larger than all mammal orders except the bats and the remainder of the rodents.
Thallomys is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae endemic to Africa. It contains four species:
The red rock rat, or red veld rat, is a species of rodent in the family Muridae native to southern Africa.
The Tete veld aethomys or Tete veld rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in South Africa and Eswatini. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, shrubland, and grassland. The common name refers to the type locality, Tete, on the Zambesi River.
The African wading rat or African water rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is native to Africa, where it occurs in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Liberia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, and Zambia.
The brush-tailed rabbit rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Hapalomys is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae endemic to Southeast Asia. It is the only member of the tribe Hapalomyini. It contains the following species:
The Ethiopian amphibious rat, also known as the Ethiopian water mouse, is an insectivorous and semiaquatic species of rodent in the monotypic genus Nilopegamys of the family Muridae. There has only been one known specimen. It was found along the Lesser Abay River near its source at an altitude of 2600 m in the highlands of northwestern Ethiopia in 1928. N. plumbeus is considered to be the most aquatically adapted African murid; its unusually large brain is thought to be one consequence of this lifestyle. The species is considered to be critically endangered or possibly extinct, since its habitat has been severely damaged by overgrazing and monoculture.
The dark-tailed tree rat or Sundaic arboreal niviventer is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found on the Malay Peninsula, including some offshore islands, and in parts of the Malay Archipelago. It might be a species complex.
The bush vlei rat or Karoo bush rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Namibia and South Africa. Its natural habitat is temperate shrubland. The Karoo rat uses behavioral adaptations to cope with the dry arid climate. It is a medium-sized rodent with a dark pelage on top and lighter underneath. It has light colored feet and a dark tail. The rat may have light colored fur around its eyes and the back of its ears.
The Philippine forest rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in the Philippines, and is located throughout the archipelago. The scientific name commemorates British colonial administrator and zoological collector Alfred Hart Everett. R. everetti is widespread throughout its range and feeds on a diet of worms and insects. There are no major threats to the species, which has been found to be competitively superior to introduced Rattus species.
Hoogerwerf's rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is named after zoologist Andries Hoogerwerf and is found only in western Sumatra, Indonesia, including Mount Leuser, where it is found only above 2000 m. It is known from few museum specimens. Genetic analysis indicate its closest relative is Rattus korinchi, another Sumatran mountain rat from which it diverged around 1.4 million years ago.
Loring's rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Kenya and Tanzania. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, dry savanna, and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
The black-tailed tree rat, also called black-tailed acacia rat or black-tailed thallomys,, is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. It is both nocturnal and arboreal and makes bulky nests in the trees, often acacias, where it feeds on leaves and buds.
Shortridge's rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in South Africa. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
Rhabdomys dilectus, the mesic four-striped grass rat, is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.
The Vangunu giant rat, locally known as the vika, is a giant arboreal species of rodent in the family Muridae. The rat was discovered in the island of Vangunu in the Solomon Islands in 2015, after years of searching based on local stories, and described in 2017. It was identified as a new species on the basis of its skull, skeleton and a detailed DNA analysis. The single individual initially collected from a felled tree measured 46 cm long, weighed between 0.5 and 1.0 kg and had orange-brown fur. Its diet is believed to include thick-shelled nuts like ngali nuts and coconuts, and probably fruits. The species is likely to be designated critically endangered, due to the small amount of forest habitat remaining on the island and ongoing logging.
Arvicanthini is a tribe of muroid rodents in the subfamily Murinae. Almost all recent species in this tribe are or were found in Africa aside from one species, the Indian bush rat, which is found in South Asia and Iran. However, some fossil Golunda species from India and the genus Parapelomys are thought to have also occurred outside Africa, and one species in the fossil genus Saidomys may have also occurred in Afghanistan.
